Tag: politics

“The ‘Machine politicians’ have shown their colors… I feel sorry for the country however as it shows the power of partisan politicians who think of nothing higher than their own interests, and I feel for your future. We cannot stand so corrupt a government for any great length of time.” – Theodore Roosevelt, Sr.

Over a century ago these words were written by the father of the more famously known “Teddy”, yet I still feel that these words hold truth and weight today. I just read this passage less than a week ago from The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, around the same time we were hearing about the government shutting down because our elected representatives couldn’t figure out how to handle our nation’s budget. With something this important looming on the horizon, you would think that “bipartisan” would stop being a spin word and would actually mean something. Unfortunately the old adage “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” seems to be lost on Capitol Hill.

Despite what promises may have been declared during campaigns, the cogs still turn on fixed axes towards the gold standards of each party. And when they don’t touch on those stereotypical agendas, the parties become so adamantly focused or unbelievably befuddled on the topic of the day. I have heard little from the Republicans that does not refer to the obliteration of anything that was past prior to their gaining greater control in the House and the Senate. On the flip side of the coin, I can conclude that the Democrats squandered their former power through in-house bickering and inaction. I feel like I’m watching “Iron Chef”, waiting for Chairman Kaga to utter dramatically “kyo no tema wa… BUDGET!”

It’s the budget today, the deficit tomorrow, health care yesterday, unemployment the day before that. You know, for a guy that never went to law school or was part of a committee, how come I seem to notice what the big wigs miss: that it is all connected? People need jobs to get income so they can buy what they need to survive. They need to be healthy and educated so they can work as long as they can because – by doing so – they will continue to bring money into the government through various taxes or support charities that better the country. You wouldn’t have a deficit or a failing economy if we had healthy smart people with jobs. Smart people that can balance a checkbook; I think that is a valuable skill that needs to be taught on all levels, from the blue-collared masses to – apparently – our politicians.

And now I’ve heard that the political big wigs are taking a break, except for the “Gang of Six” who have decided to try to work through the recess to address the issue. So this is as bipartisan as the government can get? Six elected representatives – three from each party – who are doggedly trying to work on the matter? I have no idea what they might propose but, even if it was a completely beneficial compromise, I would not be surprised in the least if the gears of the machine chewed up said proposal with all of its oil-greased and dollar fueled precision.

It must be nice to relax when you have a life-or-death project on the line, I heard that’s a good business standard and a perfect way to keep your clientele. The Budget is life or death for the government and your clientele is the American people. If you can’t pull a little unpaid overtime to fix this, then I don’t think you can truly represent your constituents who are, for the most part, working extra hours or a second job just to make ends meet. The second option would be to quit and represent those who still don’t have a job. But I think you’ll stick with the minority of supporters, collecting the big paycheck for the huff and puff that rolls out of your mouths, confident that, when this country collapses into chaos, you’ll have enough cash to hop onto a private jet and leave.

Welcome to the Machine. If you’re not angry about it then I feel for our future.

Kronos-Mal
“Rambling Incoherently since 1973″

And politics is just one aspect of it: I haven’t even touched on the million-dollar bids for advertisement placement during big sporting events or final episodes of popular shows. If companies have that much money floating around, why don’t they give back. If it wasn’t for this capitalistic democracy, they wouldn’t have that money in the first place. I guess they (and other well-off “institutions”) can’t see how important of an investment the United States of America is…

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter king He’s pushing with bullied shoulders in a hearing on Islamist extremism that open in Washington today.

I agree we do need to keep our country safe, and our people should help. But to roll things back to the BIG RED SCARE of communism like in the late 40s and 50s?

Watch the following little film that was done back then. Kinda where Pete is leading IMO.

Funny huh? Thats how I feel about how Pete is trying to deal with something he sees as a huge problem. This witch hunt is only going to make people fear and hate Islam more. Pete believes that the American Muslims are not ‘policing’ their own society correctly. What about the white folk dealing with racist fucks? Why are not the Hispanic-American population helping deal with border issues hard enough? Or is Muslim people the new people to place in the top spot of who to discriminate?

Shit we are all immigrants. And Pete openly Supports a known radical organization. The IRA.

I give props to some of the IRA but for Pete to support one radical group and witch hunt another radical group is fucking not cool.

Our Country kinda sucks right now doesn’t it? There was a phrase ‘Proud to be an American’ That’s something I have to wash around in my mouth before I can say it. So I don’t know if I can truly say it. I want to but how the non rich man gets fucked in the country makes that hard. Yeah that’s due to a mix of the above story and how the non rich get fucked by the rich in the US.
~G

And now, it looks like that want is becoming a reality, at least across the Pond. Egypt. Tunisia. Libya. I’m sure I’m missing a few but these are the countries currently getting the most attention in the news. I have to say that this all brings out mixed emotions regarding the whole situation. It makes me believe in the people of the world, that we are not inactive and that we will stand up when change is necessary, no, required for our own well being. Yet it also reminds me that there are those individuals who would seek to exploit others for things that are so petty compared to the meaning of humanity. And after the old regimes are torn down, will the replacement be the answer the people need or will yet another potentially fouler institution come into being?

I applaud the citizens of these countries for making a stand. Not necessarily for whatever political movement they represent, although just freedoms are the most valued commodity that we all should strive to achieve. What I really admire is their knowledge that they risk everything in their protests. When it boils down to it I am an armchair protester/agitator who shouts his words across the digit media, safe behind a monitor far away from the threat. I might report on these world affairs, drawing attention to such events, but I rank noticeably lower than those on location reporters that risk their lives to get that word out first. I appear as just one amongst a legion of bloggers that seem to toss their two cents in on the latest news as if we are some authority on the subject.

But is that so bad? Being one of the uncountable masses feeding the media base on the subject? I think a good answer to that is when Egypt’s internet connectivity was shut off. How quickly did those crowds grow when that one outlet was removed, when an option to voice out was silenced? Courage to make change has to come from somewhere. Talking about current events and problems is just the start, vocalizing your concerns and angers might not get you out the door and campaigning for freedom but it can help push others in that direction. And when the avenue of speech is taken from you, then the only choices you have is to either join the protesters or keep your mouth shut and remain under the heel of those you wish to scream at.

I’ve been to Egypt, nearly a decade ago. Yes I saw the pyramids, the tombs, the big tourist stops. But I also bowed out of a mosque visit to just walk the streets, seeing the local kids who wanted to show off their English skills (perhaps even to get some coin from the visiting American). When a second stop to Alexandria was planned I stayed in Cairo, listening to the speakers crackle the evening prayers… soaking it all in and gaining some inspiration in my artwork. My point being that I have experienced a snippet of the underlying culture, seen some of the common folk. And I’ve seen the place that they lived in and, although beautiful and exotic, I could see – even before the events of this year – that it could be so much better for them. The Egyptian protests proves to me that they saw it too, for many years more than my two week visit.

So America, can we learn something from this? Don’t get me wrong. Stateside, we’ve seen a hefty shift in grassroots political movement – the Tea Party taking the top of the list. But is it the same thing? Are those people that really need significant change in those crowds, letting their voice be heard to provide the just freedoms they deserve? Or are they an easily motivated and mobilized herd that the same political figures are stirring up to make “changes” towards the same situation with a different name? Are the politicians they got elected pushing for a better tomorrow for all the citizens of the United States or are these new representatives ripping apart beneficial policies in the name of change alone?

I think the people that really need the change either have no way to voice their frustrations or have resigned themselves to closed mouths and internal ranting. So, when it boils down to it, I don’t feel that bad about being a faceless digital agitator.

Got this link from one of my least favorite sources. The New York Times. Put like shooting buckshot into a cloud you may hit a bird. Maybe there are doing real news again.

“ALGIERS — Algerian demonstrators, inspired by popular protests in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, protested in the capital, Algiers, on Saturday before security forces moved in to break up the demonstration.”

Seems they are taking the Iranian way of stopping unrest. Beating people, blocking the Internet and TV. At least Iran is a little more proactive.

Yep, shady goverments (cough) should recognize what has started.

I do not blame our presidents. I blame the inner circles and out circles that control what goes on, giving our Presidents little choice. And with dumb as W, he was a great Jar Jar Binks. Dick Cheney, Emperor of course.

No. This is not a response to this week’s regime change. You won’t hear me complaining about how this party stayed in power here, how that party gained control there, and how the Tea Party Express played into it all… I leave that (especially that last bit) to the other writers. This is about THE November Fiasco. You know… the one that seems to creep up on us every year or two.

So what did we learn from the circus? That politicians can sling the stink like chimps with a bad case of the trots? That their advertising supporters are in the same cage? What will we learn? That they don’t follow through on what they preach? For me, this is old information. And, quite frankly, it should be old information for you as well. It is the same song and dance we’ve been subjected to since our developing brains could comprehend what politics is… and that you can’t vote for the elephants because they’re cooler than donkeys (you don’t need Wild Kingdom to know who’d win that fight).

My biggest beef – and it is most relevant for this election year – is the cost. So just how much money was put into all of this? If you’re expecting to see figures here then you’re going to be disappointed… I don’t even want to subject myself to the real value, the thought of it alone is barely enough to stand. But when you hear that a candidate puts in $141 million of their own money into an election, can you imagine what the final amount comes to?

All that money. Spent on advertisements that most of us switched off the Nth time we saw it. I’m so glad that the unemployed can feed off these commercials, support their families on electronic factoids, and save up for the future on nearly pointless attacks on character and performance.

Shame on those who fuel the political machine, greasing the cogs with liquid assets, presenting the shiny exterior of your flavor of the moment while exposing(?) the rusted interior of your competitor. Shame on the parties, the loco-motions, the candidates, the media, the big businesses. And, I dare say, shame on anyone that starts boo-hooing when they try to put this outrageous spending into check; each party is guilty of it but they’ll only point to the other’s sin when they try to fix it.

I’m guessing that if we took all the money we put into political elections, we’d be close to (if not finished with) paying the National Debt. Better yet, the People’s debt. Sling some cash at that instead of your opponent and see how fast we start buying our way out of the recession.

Freedom of what? I love the Internet as well as the feeling that we can spew forth whatever we want and feel relatively safe. Its our little pocket of the Internet after all. What I’m speaking about is that congress is voting on the ability to blacklist sites not just from the US but almost anywhere. How is that possible? A good deal of the net passes to and fr ow from our states. Cut off access and poof. An easy Ip route to null zero even.

Anyways check the following link and judge for yourself. You don’t have to agree with it but just what does it make you feel? Me, I don’t dig it at all.

We’ve all heard it….
The Rich get richer, and the Poor get poorer. That’s the way it goes….

The Ruling Class in this country want to keep it that way. Why not? They’ve been having a Blast for the last 10 years. All those nice tax cuts from their poker buddies in DC. And, all the “inside” help with deregulation their former corporate employees provided, once they were ‘elected”.

Is it the Republican’s fault? The Democrats? Guess what, both parties are responsible! Because in DC, money rules all. And the folks with the most money, WIN. They get tax cuts, legislation in their favor, and they win elections. If they have a pet project, money gets it rolling.

If I had 4 million to blow, I could probably get elected for SOMETHING. If not, that’s OK. I could just BUY a politician with that kind of Dough!

Folks used to say “Anybody can become President, that’s what makes America Great”. Yeah, Right! I knew that was bullshit by the time I was 10. People also said that if you worked hard and made good grades, you could achieve the “American Dream”. Really…..and what, exactly, is THAT? Home Ownership? A college fund for the kiddies? A vacation every year? A new car every other year? That would be Awesome!

So what the fuck happened?

The American Dream is DEAD! It’s been dead for 30 years, at least. You see, the problem with being Middle Class is that you have just enough. Too much to get help, and not enough to afford anything. Just enough for the government to tax the shit out of you! Up to 43% of our household income goes to TAXES!

The Elite don’t have to worry about their kids’ education. They don’t worry about health care, either. They can afford it. Hell, they clone their fucking DOGS! And don’t hand me the crap “they worked hard for that money”. 90% of them were born wealthy. Their grandfathers may have broken a nail from time to time, but the rest of them use the money they had to make more and more money, by gambling on shit like “futures”, big oil, and OUR MORTGAGES! The Elite could give a Fuck about the average person, because their asses are covered. They don’t have to choose between food and paying the electric bill! We are peasants, and as long as we keep making their cars and cheeseburgers, they will NOT care.

The Middle Class can only compete with the Ruling Class by voting. I’m not talking about voting for a political party. Whether you vote Democrat or Republican, you are still buying the Bullshit! I mean truly independent candidates that are NOT in some corporation’s pocket. That is the only way we will see change for the better!

If the Rich keep trying to get richer by fucking everybody over, they may get a surprise. Folks can only be pushed down so far. When enough people are pushed too far, then we will see. History has shown, when the majority of wealth is owned by a minority of the People, trouble is SURE to follow. In a civilized society, the Rich are fairly safe, because they own the judges and cops. However, if things keep getting less civilized, there will be a different form of ‘justice’. They cannot count on the National Guard to push us back, not really. During the French Revolution, the palace guards sided with the People, not the king.

I guess what I’m really saying is this: Would you fight harder for more money or for FOOD? Money is only paper, but people can be meat.